Of Wolves and Ninjas
by H. Cow
Summary: Kakashi and a squad of jonin are sent to konoha's new ally to deal with a rogue fighter and her wolves. Things are not as they seem, but you'll see why. fluff, lemon later on, KakashixOC
1. To The Valley

My very first fanfic! Fluff, lemon in later chapters, cheesy (sorry about that), but hey, what can you do?

I do no own Naruto, or it would be called Kakashi and it would be too graphic to show on cartoon network.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Tell me again, what's so important that we have to march out to the middle of nowhere in a fucking rainstorm?" the deep voice was thick with disgust.

Kakashi had to admit that this was one mission he would much rather not add to his record. The group of four ninjas had been walking since before daybreak in a cold drizzle. He shook his head when a large drop fell from the tall trees above. The path would probably have been beautiful on a sunny day, with dappled light softly falling on the rich, green moss, but today was no sunny day. The clouds had appeared early the day before and were not going to let up until the next afternoon.

"The village hidden in the valley is a new ally to Konoha. We're here to make sure we keep a friendly relationship with them."

"They better be grateful. I could be home with a nice cup of hot tea, in a dry house…"

"Fantasizing won't make it happen, Gai."

The former rolled his eyes. His short, black hair was plastered to his head, and he had zipped up his vest in an effort to keep warm and somewhat dry.

"Cheer up Bushy-brows. We'll be there soon enough… I hope…" It was the single female member of the group who had spoken. Kurenai's normally sharp eyes had developed a glassy stare as they progressed. Her statement wasn't too convincing, but they knew it to be a bad sign if even the over-enthusiastic Gai-sensei was bitter and sarcastic. He hadn't even made one "rival" comment to Kakashi so far that day.

The silver-haired shinobi glanced at the final member of their temporary squad. Asuma was too pissed to speak, furious that his cigarettes would not light in the bad weather.

As leader of the squad, Kakashi was in charge of keeping morale high, but there was only so much one could do. His hair had long since been soaked through, and a silvery strand hung over his one uncovered eye. From miles away, even a genin could see that they were in a bad mood. He walked in front and emitted a don't-mess-with-me aura, almost visible in the mist. He wore his typical jonin uniform, with his hitae-ate pulled over his left eye and the collar of his black shirt elongated and pulled over the lower half of his face, to act as his mask. He carried a pack full of supplies needed for the trip, as well as a full stock of shuriken, kunai, exploding notes, and other weapons he might find useful. Gai and Asuma wore similar uniforms, while Kurenai completely ignored it, wearing a short, off-white wrap over a black mesh shirt. If any one was to mistake her for a helpless, conforming woman, she would be quick to correct them.

There they walked, each member an elite ninja of Konoha, which led Kakashi to a puzzle. Ever since the attempted take-over of the village hidden in the leaves a few years prior to their journey, the Hokage had been careful to not send out too many ninjas at once. Why was it, then, that four of the top shinobi had been sent out to deal with one opponent?

"Your task," she had explained, "is to observe, assess, and properly deal with an alleged murderer who lives in the forest surrounding the village hidden in the valley."

"Four of us and a whole village for one rebel? Who is this guy anyways?" he remembered asking.

"Girl, actually. She's known as Okami (Japanese for wolf) around there. I'm not sure how much of it is true, but, from what I've hear, she might be quite a bit of trouble."

"So… for all we know she could be some crazy hermit lady?"

His leader sighed. He could tell she was a bit tired of the older ninjas' constant double-checking of her hunches and methods of commanding. He looked down slightly as a slight show of respect and apology.

"The village hidden in the valley has a growing relationship with us. If we just send over one fighter, they may feel insulted. Besides, it's not just this "Okami" I want you to observe and assess. I don't trust Tanza, their leader, as far as I can throw him. Well… as far as I can throw his house." Kakashi smirked under his mask at this reference. There was not one person on the face of the earth that the Hokage could not toss over a hundred feet. "Any information you can gather would be of use."

Kakashi was drawn out of his memories as the village came into view. As they reached the top of the slope they had been climbing, they could see the entire city. It was not as big as Konoha, nor as modernized, but the city could support a fair amount of people. It was surprisingly well-protected. The walls of the valley were too steep, high, and forested for any enemy to attack quickly, and the bottom was cleared away to easily see anyone who approached. A river harnessed by a number of small dams and was channeled though a series of canals ran from the mountains though the heart of the city.

The four cautiously make their way down the muddy path towards the main gates.

…………………………………………………………

As soon as they walked through the gates, Kakashi could sense unease in the village. People would send cautious glances their way as the four foreigners were led to the city head quarters. It could have just been the cold rain, but no children were out playing in the streets as they often were in Konoha.

Upon entering the City Hall, a nervous messenger was sent into a room to return, leading a smiling man.

"Ah! You must be the jonin sent from the village hidden in the leaves. Welcome to our home. My name is Tanza. I am the leader of the village hidden in the valley. Please, you must have questions about your mission. Come this way!"

Kakashi and his squad obediently followed the man into a large office. A stuffed manila folder sat on a desk in the middle of the room. The man sat behind tit and looked up at them with small, green eyes. He was not very impressive to look at, with thinning gray hair and a smaller build than most.

"I don't know how much you've been told…"

"Not much," replied Kakashi, "It'd be best if you started in the beginning."

"Very well then," he was used to briefing. Kakashi liked that. Detailed personal accounts could be tedious and annoying. "The one you are here to help us with began her life as a normal member of society. She came from a long line of nobles, and her early childhood was pretty typical, until her mother was killed when she was four. We are not sure who the culprit was, but it was a gruesome death, and the girl was hiding in a closet when it happened. We are almost positive that this was the event that turned her into," he searched for the right words, "what she is today.

"She was raised by a bodyguard and her father for about a year before the… incident occurred."

He took a breath and continued a bit more quietly.

"Seven shinobi from one of our allied villages were walking near her house where she had been left under the watch of a nanny, who had fallen asleep, along with my daughter. She… attacked them for reasons that remain unknown to us. The nanny woke up in the middle and summoned me to the scene. I witnessed the last of the killings, but nothing could have been done to save them. It was horrendous. Even a poor man, _begging on his knees_. My daughter was killed before I arrived. She had been friends with Okami. And what did she do to deserve it. I only think, if I had gotten there a little earlier…"

He paused and closed his eyes, ridding himself of the image. Kakashi looked down. If the story was true, this man had been through hell. With a shake of the head, the village leader looked up again, grimly.

"I had no choice but to banish her from the village. However, the next day, a group of patrollers was attacked. No survivors were left. We sent out about 5 separate patrols to drive her away, but she would not have it. The fortunate souls who made it back alive reported that she had been seen in the company of the wolves that live in the mountains, hence the nickname. After a month or so, the attacks died out, and wolf sightings became more and more scarce. We have come to suspect that, during this time, she was training with the wolves. Whatever the case, she was much more skillful when she came back."

"When was this?" asked Kurenai.

"About five years ago." He let out a grim smile. "Actually, I believe it was her 22nd birthday. A group of herbalist from our village saw her and a group of wolves at the carcass of a deer. They were lucky to make it back. They always say not to disturb a wolf when it eats."

He leaned back in his seat and stared at the wall behind them.

"Ever since, it has been a constant battle between our village and her pack. The adventurous hunters set up wolf traps while they make their rounds, but there has been no luck so far. We do not like to ask our allies for assistance, but the situation is out of our hands."

He pushed the folder towards Kakashi, who opened it to the first page. On one side was a sketch of a woman. She wore a white mask with a black moon symbol on the forehead, with a long, loose shirt, and loose black pants. Her hair was straight and came to her shoulders. The picture was labeled "Okami," and her height, approximate weight, and birth date were listed. On the other side was a stack of written reports, from both witnesses and a mortician.

"This," continued Tanza, "is her complete file. It contains reports, evaluations, maps of her sightings, and any other information we could find on her. It should be quite useful."

We'll go over this tonight and start our mission in the morning." Kakashi knew it was not a good idea to try to get going before they knew that they were up against. Besides, they needed a rest. "Just two questions. One. I noticed that the file for your dau-"

"My daughters file is not there because I was in too much pain to allow them to perform an autopsy. Her case was typical to the others."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"You are helping me catch her killer. For that, I am grateful."

"Also, 'Okami's' real name is not included with the report."

"Her's is a noble family with a few living members. In order to help them maintain their dignity, her name has been kept out of the file. The family has no advanced blood-line traits, so it does not truly matter any more."

Kakashi nodded and his squad made its way to the house they would be staying in. After they took showers, dried off and ate, they reviewed Okami's folder.

"Well, I'd say _something _definitely exists. It'd be pretty hard to fake so many deaths and disappearances," mumbled Gai. He was still worn out from the trip.

_Thank you, Jesus_, thought Kakashi.

The folder was hard to believe. Countless photos of corpses were included, as well as horrendous witness reports and sightings. It had to be real. No one would be stupid enough to make it up and expect people to believe it.

"Judging by the severity of the wounds, she's an efficient killer, but she hacks them up once they're dead," remarked Asuma, happily sitting by the window with his cigarette in his hand and part of the file in his lap.

"There's nothing worse than someone who defaces the dead." Kurenai's tone was full of disgust.

"Alright. The recent cases are all very similar. I think we can put it away. Time for assignments. Gai, tomorrow you will go to the morgue and ask about how she fights, so we can figure out how to deal with her if we have to. Kurenai and Asuma, you two will go into town and see what you can figure out. Look for anything indicating that this is a false case. Rumors, drunken ballads, whatever. I'll go into the forest and see if I can find her. I won't make contact, but I'll see if I can follow her a bit. Let's get some sleep; it's been a long day."

With that, the four headed to their rooms. Kakashi was only slightly surprised when he heard Asuma's footsteps heading towards Kurenai's room. Good for him. Kakashi smiled under his mask. It was rare that any shinobi could have a relationship while they were still active jonin. He would let them be as long as it didn't become too distracting.

……………………………………………………

How do you like it so far? Please read and review. I promise there will be more action in the next chapters.


	2. Unexpected Discoveries

Chapter 2. Here it is. I tried to buy the rights for Naruto on Ebay, but lost at the very last second. I haven't given up though.

* * *

As they ate breakfast, a knock sounded at the door. Kakashi rose, grudgingly, to answer it.

A young man stood there, gasping for breath.

"My (wheeze) name's (hack) Kuna!" he looked as if he had raced to the little house. Swallowing to calm his breath, he continued. "I'm Tanza's son. There's been another attack. Four people dead. Found 'em just inside the forest early this morning. Came to get you." The leaf village jonin were already out the door.

The scene was a mess. Tree limbs were hacked away, and scrub and moss had been dug up in the fray. As the morning mist rose, it seemed to turn crimson with the blood scattered around the clearing. Four bodied, or what remained of them, were piled in the middle. Had it been hot and sunny, the smell would have knocked a pig dead. Luckily, the rain kept it down a bit.

The bodies themselves were hacked limb from limb, their eyes wide with surprise, forever frozen in time. Kakashi saw Kurenai swallow in horror, and Asuma's disguised attempt to comfort her. Gai was too busy examining the bodies to notice.

"They were killed about an hour ago," once again, the situation had shaped the normally cheery ninja's voice into a thin, dry utterance, "by stab wounds to their torsos."

As they finished the examination, Kakashi felt someone's eyes on his back. He made an excuse to glace in the direction of the gaze. A short, old woman with long gray hair and a sturdy walking staff was looking over the scene. She carried a basket of healing plants and looked to be heading towards the village. _Herbalist_. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and a knowing look, as if she had seen this before. She sighed and turned back to the pathway with her head held low._ Poor lady_, thought Kakashi, _watching her entire village slowly disappearing out from under her feet. No wonder no one lets their children out to play_. He turned back to help load the bodies onto wagons to be taken to the village morgue.

After all was done, the four set out to complete their tasks. The good weather had come at last, and Kakashi wished he could enjoy it as he moved through the forest. He stopped by a stream and took a drink. He was about to enter Okami and her wolves' territory. He took a vile out of his pocket and rubbed it over his skin. No trace of his scent left, he re-corked it and stood up. From now on, he would stick to the shadows, silently moving towards the center of the forest, in the hopes of finding Okami. He didn't have to go very far.

After a few minutes of silent tracking, Kakashi came across a big clearing. In the center stood a massive white stone, surrounded by small white flowers. Squatting in the soft grass before the stone was Okami. Kakashi peered out at her from behind a tall oak.

She was dressed as she had been in the sketch, with the long sleeves of her beige shirt covering her hands. She had her forearms on her knees, and her hands hung limply form the wrists. She tilted her head back and gazed up at the white rock. She did not move for a long time, and a gust of wind blew towards her. She sniffed the air and stood slowly.

Kakashi felt anger rising in him. Here was the murderer of innocent people, quietly enjoying a spring day. He resisted the urge to grab a kunai from his pouch and throw it at her.

Okami suddenly snapped to attention. She turned in Kakashi's direction. _Could she have sensed me? _She turned the other way. _She knows something's here_. She turned to the center of the woods and disappeared with a slight puff of chakra. When her scent had bully gone, Kakashi stepped into the clearing. He saw a small broken twig on the opposite side of the clearing. _So, she ran back to her den_, thought the jonin as the walked to the place she had formerly occupied.

The slight worn place in front of the stone revealed that she had been visiting the spot for some time. He could still feel trace amounts of chakra from her departure. He smiled, thinking how much the village must have been humiliated by asking for assistance with her case. He had recently learned that no woman was allowed to become a ninja in the valley. It was one of the reasons Konoha was not easily made an ally; many people did not like the concept of a female Hokage. How it must have hurt to have a lone woman defying them right outside their own homes. _No matter_. He shrugged and went about, searching the ground for any useful information. He bent to pick up a small rock in front of the footprints, and frowned.

_What's this? Has our little wolf been crying?_ There was a small, wet smudge on the center of the rock, and no clouds were in sight. He could not tell for sure, as her eyes had been hidden by her mask, but he decided to consider the odd possibility. _Maybe guilt_. Puzzled, he turned back the way he came and headed for the house.

………………………………………………………

"There's not much to tell," explained Asuma as he put out the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray, "no one wants to talk."

"And when they do talk, it's always the same thing. Okami certainly has her enemies around here." Kurenai had a concentrating frown on her face as she relayed her findings. "We didn't even find one crazy with conspiracy theories. That's odd. There's always one person blaming the government. Not true with this case."

The four jonin were sitting at the table and had just finished their meal.

"Well, the mortician doesn't have much to say about it either. 'She's strong.' But that's about it. He's a man of few words." Kakashi could sense Gai's superiority and enthusiasm slowly coming back. _Damnit._ "Something fishy is going on though," he added, with a hopeful glint in his eyes, "I think there might be something going on behind the scenes."

"Care to elaborate?" Kakashi hated to encourage him, but he had the same feeling deep in his gut.

"In my studies of his behavior," _oh boy_, "I noticed that he continuously glanced at a cabinet when he thought I wasn't looking. He seemed to be hiding something from me when he spoke, too. Very suspicious." He ended with stroking his chin thoughtfully a dramatic, shifty-eyed look. Kakashi rolled his eyes. Gai had the habit of making something out of nothing and vice versa, but still…

"Well, Okami herself didn't really seem like a killer when I saw her. More like some lost pup. And I have to agree. Things seem a bit too perfectly placed here. We'll all go into the forest tomorrow and try to follow her around. Get some sleep." He directed the last bit to Asuma and Kurenai, who didn't seem to notice.

_I'll find out more tomorrow._

……………………………………………………

"We'll go straight in until we find something. Remember, if it's possible we want to find Okami and follow her without her knowing. Got it?"

"Right!"

"Good. Minimum noise from here on in. Follow my lead."

With that, the squad moved silently through the woods. When they came to the big clearing, Kakashi checked the base of the white stone. Sure enough, there was a new set of footprints in the grass. He gave a silent command, and they continued on. After a little while, they came upon a well-beaten trail and followed it for about a mile. A noise from around a corner sent them to lie and wait in the underbrush.

Okami trotted down the path, towards them. The carried a large pack on her back and there was a certain air of purpose about her. When she was about 100 feet from them, Kakashi noticed the slightest of falters in her stride. Her eyes flashed to his and his comrade's positions. He grinned under his mask. _Impressive. She could sense us even when we have no scent, are making no noises, and are hidden from view. This might prove difficult._

Nevertheless, he gave the signal to follow. Judging from their expressions, the other three had not noticed her glance. When they rounded the next corner on the winding path, Okami was gone. Kakashi had expected as much.

They tore after the woman, steadily gaining. She had probably expected to be able to double back and lose them, but leaf nin were better than that. It was evident that the large pack was slowing her down considerably.

One more step and she's mine! But he was never given the chance. Okami gave one final surge foreword and twisted in midair so her feet landed on the trunk of a tree. With tremendous power, she sprang at them. Her head hit its mark dead on, right in the middle of Kakashi's abdomen. The wind was immediately knocked out of him, and be flew back. As he staggered to his feet, he saw that the other three had surrounded her and begun to fight.

She had excellent from, made for fighting when outnumbered. She could dodge, counter, and strike as fast as most jonin, even with the large pack on. Unfortunately for her, they were not 'most' jonin. Kakashi entered the fray and delivered a kick that sent the smaller fugitive flying. Unable to flip over with the pack on, she grabbed a kunai from nowhere and cut the straps. Rolling safely to her feet, she launched back at him. He caught the punch she sent to him with one hand and the follow-up kick with the other. Unable to block the second kick she sent, he flung himself away, towards the abandoned pack.

His eyes went wide with shock as he saw its contents. _No wonder she had a purposeful air._

"Gai! Let her win!"

"What!?"

"Let her win! She has…"

But that was enough of a distraction for the girl. She jumped back a step and performed a sequence of hand symbols.

"Air type! Sleep seal!"

_Never heard that one before_, thought Kakashi as he felt his body go limp.

When Kakashi woke, there was a very angry Gai standing over him.

"What," the furious ninja hissed, "was that for? You do realize that we had her right when you started screaming at us to let her win, don't you?"

"Bandages," murmured Kakashi, still groggy from the jutsu.

"What?"

Kakashi sat up and rubbed his head.

"Bandages, antiseptic, splints and gauze. That's what was in her pack. That's why her first choice was to try to lose us rather than confront us when she sensed us on the path. That's why she was running a long distance with a heavy pack. That's why she wouldn't take it off when we started chasing her. She has a hurt pack-mate out there who needs medical attention. Probably some wolf stuck in a trap."

He got to his feet. _Man, my head hurts_, he thought, looking at the trail they had made crashing through the woods._ I hope she got there in time. No one deserves to lose a comrade because they couldn't find help in time, and those who do won't go back anyways._

………………………………………………………

Chapter 2 done! See, not soo much boring talking in this one.


	3. VIctims and Deceit

Chapter 3! Yay! This one gets a little cheesy/fluffy, so bear with me.

Tried again to bribe someone into bribing someone into jumping into a plane to fly to Japan and steel Naruto rights… Still don't own it, but we'll see.

* * *

When he returned to the large clearing the next morning, Okami was already standing in the same spot she had been in on the first day. As Kakashi silently approached, she lifter her head and turned to his general direction. She had an uncanny ability to sense when people neared her, but by the way her eyes darted from shadow to shadow, he could tell she could not find his exact location.

"How long do you plan on following me around, Shinobi?" Her voice was crisp and demanded respect.

Kakashi did not trust her enough to reveal his position with a reply. After a short silence, she shook her head.

When she spoke, it was with a contemplative, casual tone. She was not chatty, as many were when they were trying to figure out a possible enemy's position, but spoke slowly and without a shred of nervousness. She merely looked calmly at the shadows of the trees around her.

"You're better than most. I'm impressed. It explains how you were able to get so close the first day. Unfortunately for you, I now know what to look for. It's a lot different from most who come looking for me. Usually, I just sense anger, hatred, greed. You know. Typical human emotions." Kakashi remembered his thoughts when she had first sensed him. _One mystery solved_. "You're tougher than that. Not many sudden shifts, mostly calm and intent on completing your mission. I guess that's why they made you leader, eh Kakashi?"

He resisted the urge to jolt and swallowed. Okami's gaze came close to his hiding spot. Too close.

He could hear her smile. "You're not the only one doing a bit of observing. I picked up your trail last night after I was done…" she trailed off and looked down. Shrugging it off after a second, she continued. "You really shouldn't be so shocked. Wolves are much better at tracking and staying hidden. Even the pups can get within a few yards with out me noticing. You could use a few point-er-s…"

Her head jerked to the side, and she sniffed the air. Even with her mask on, Kakashi could see here eyes were wide with panic. She raced off into the woods, with the jonin just out of sight behind her.

She stopped so suddenly that Kakashi almost crashed into her. At the last second, he jumped up into a leafy tree branch.

Her body was rigid and she trembled slightly. The smell of fear came to Kakashi a split second before a stronger, much worse scent came. Blood. A lot of blood.

Okami slowly stepped into the clearing. Her shoulders slouched with defeat as she surveyed the scene. Seven dead. The bodies had been hacked apart, their heads thrown in the center, frozen forever in wide-eyed horror.

There was a small noise from the undergrowth at the far side of the clearing. Her hand flew to the kunai at her side but froze. A second later, Kakashi could see why.

A small girl of eight or nine crouched in a bush, her face red from recently fallen tears. Okami slowly walked to her, but stopped and crouched down about two yards away.

"It's alright, little one. I'm not going to hurt you." She spoke with a voice that could calm a thunderstorm.

The girl shuddered with a silent sob and raced into Okami's arms. The woman gently picked her up and held her until most of the tears had passed.

"What's your name, little one?"

"M-Masao," she managed to choke out.

"Can you tell me what happened here, Masao? It's alright if you can't right now, but it will help a lot. Are you ok with that?" her voice was soft and forgiving. She was not forcing anything on the girl, but asking permission to take something off her shoulders.

"W-we were j-just walking out t-to our herb garden. M-my dad-dy heard something and told m-me to hid-de." She broke down again. "They just came an-nd—" Okami held the girl, slowly rocking back and forth, until she stopped crying. The woman placed her on her feet and wiped her eyes.

"How about you find some nice white stones to mark their graves?"

The girl nodded and moved to the little-used path next to the clearing. When Okami turned back to the bodies, Kakashi caught a glimpse of eyes that had seen this painful scene many times before. He remembered those eyes. His thoughts flashed back to his first morning in the village. _So she was there, posing as an old herbalist_. A pang of sorrow struck through him._ Her own village turned against her and has been framing her for who knows how long._

She worked quickly, and, before Masao returned with the stones, she had the bodies placed back together with their faces arranged in less horrifying expressions. There were four men and a boy of 16, along with an older woman and a 20 year old. Okami took a kunai from one of the older men, and a necklace from the older woman.

"Come here, Masao. I have a feeling they wanted you to have these." She tied the necklace around the girl's neck, and tucked the knife in her belt.

"How did you know who my parents were?" asked the astonished girl as she looked at the pendant around her neck.

"They both died trying to protect you. It's an easy thing to sense, if you know what to look for. Come stand over here and will them goodbye."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Okami moved her hands in front of her, making signs in quick succession.

"Earth type, burial seal," she whispered. Again, Kakashi had never seen this type of technique before. It was definitely not a regular jutsu. The ground gently pulled up around the bodies, leaving patches of freshly turned soil where they lay.

"Put the stones where their heads were, then come back here."

The girl silently obeyed.

Again, she made hand signs.

"Plant type, growth seal."

Kakashi felt the small tingle of chakra as it pulsed from her hands, now lying in the soft loam. Slowly, small, white flowers grew out of the earth. They pushed toward the sun and opened delicately until the entire clearing was covered. The jonin's mind flew to the big clearing back in the woods. So it was not just a quiet escape from the world. He wondered who had been buried there, and who was so important to the girl that she visited the site every day.

Okami stood and swayed slightly. _That last jutsu must have taken a lot of chakra_, though Kakashi.

"Come on, Masao. We need to get you someplace safe." She started walking towards a path.

"But the village is in the other direction!"

Okami stopped and slowly turned to the girl. Kakashi caught a glimpse of two sorrowful eyes.

"The village is no longer a safe place for you," she said, almost at a whisper. "If you go back, they will kill you, just like your parents. I'm taking you to the house of a friend of mine. He is taking care of other people in your situation. Masao, there are very few people you can trust now," she paused. "I'm sorry I didn't get here in time."

She turned back to the path, and the girl silently followed.

……………………………………………………………………

After winding along the tiny path, they came to a small house in the wilderness.

_The mortician's house?_ Kakashi hoped he wouldn't have to tell Gai his suspicions were correct.

It was a plain cabin, with few windows and a boor. Next to it in the clearing stood a larger, more uniform, building, which served as a morgue and office. A large graveyard surrounded by an iron fence sat silently behind it, ancient ivy twisting in and out of the rusty poles.

Okami stopped and squatted down to Masao's height.

"Little one, I have to go now. This is where you will be staying from now on. Gravekeep will take care of you. You are to trust _no one_: not family, not me, not even Gravekeep until they identify themselves as a friend. Now listen closely, and remember this:

"Whenever you meet a person, the first person to talk will ask 'nice weather today, isn't it?' The second will reply 'yes. We should be able to see the moon tonight.' Then the first: 'if it decides to show its face,' and the second will reply 'it always does when we need it to.'"

She had the girl repeat the safe-words several times, then sent her to the house. Kakashi watched silently. Had she forgotten he was there? If what she had said about sensing emotions was true, than that was impossible. His mind was restless as he struggled with thoughts of all shapes and sizes. He wouldn't be surprised if the entire village could feel his rage. She had been set up by her own people. Who knew if the first incidents were real. Who knew if any of it was real? Not only that, but they had dragged innocent bystanders into the fray. It was impossible for that murder scene in the woods to de set up. He had been with Okami when it happened. He knew she was not a clone from her scent, and knew she didn't have clones out to do the work for her because of her chakra signal. And no wolf could make those slash marks.

_What if she had accomplices? No._ He almost laughed a grim laugh as he shook the idea from his head. As far as reading people went, he was one of Konoha's finest. One cannot create a self-induced panic of the magnitude that he had felt from her. He knew what faked emotions felt like, and with such a surge of them, even the tiniest bit of pre-knowledge could be detected. His own mind had created his doubt out of denial that humans could be so cruel.

He wished he knew which family she came from, so he could give them a piece of his mind.

His inner rage-fest was interrupted as the girl reached the cabin door. An older man answered. He was short and plump with a scowl on his face and stubble on his chin. His white hair was slowly receding from his forehead.

He narrowed his already squinting eyes up at the bright sun.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?" His voice was a low growl.

"Y-yes. We should be able to s-see the moon tonight," stammered the frightened girl.

The grizzled man blinked and quickly sent a weary eye to the woods. His attitude changed to an unreadable stare.

"If it decides to show its face." His voice was soft and sad now.

"It always does when we need it to." Masao had regained some of her confidence.

The man surveyed the girl for a second, then let her inside, eyeing the forest one last time before shutting the door behind him.

Below Kakashi, Okami sighed, leaning her back against the tree and hanging her head in defeat. Slowly, she pushed herself off of the giant trunk and walked silently back into the forest.

Kakashi silently cut a corner to stand in front of her on the path. She came an inch from running into his chest, and the tiny trace of a frightened gasp escaped her as she caught herself with a back step. Pride kept either of them from being the first to put more space into the awkwardly small gap between them.

So she did forget about me. Kakashi smirked under his black mask. He caught a glimpse of an intense sorrow in her eyes before she snapped into shock and then anger. Still, he could see the tails of fallen tears leading from her eyes to somewhere beneath her hard, white mask. This close, she could be read like an open book. Even under the layer of anger, most likely from not remembering he had followed her, Kakashi could see the trace of long held pain.

"What do you want?" she snarled.

He said nothing for a while, simply watching her eyes. In the sketch drawn into her file, they gave her small, narrowed eyes; eyes thick with murderous defiance. In person, they were full of sad memories, barely covered by her current emotion. Blue surrounded soft grey-green and finally the thinnest tint of yellow immediately around her pupils.

She became uneasy in his close gaze and shifted her eyes down. She had never seen anything like it. His cool grey eye. The other was hidden under his headband, but one was enough for such a close distance.

That one, calm, cool eye saw right through her. It held the knowledge from a hundred of the people of her former village, and the experience of a thousand.

"What do you want?" she growled again. Her voice suggested that she was in control and in no way intimidated by the taller jonin, but her eyes told a different story. He smiled inwardly and lessened the intensity of his gaze.

"How long have they been framing you?"

She turned her head to the side, trying to shut him out. His soft tone had visibly shocked her, if only for a second.

"Long enough," she retorted, again using different emotions in her voice and eyes.

He took a small, easy step towards her, closing the gap that had formed as she subtly inched away from him. He watched the hairs on her neck stand up, despite her crossed arms and lack of eye contact. _She doesn't know what to do when someone is kind to her_.

He softened his voice again, trying his hardest to calm her into stepping out of her tight shell.

"We can't help you if you don't help us find answers."

"Don't." Her voice was a small, pleading whisper. Kakashi was about to try once more, but she continued, with a sad smile in her eyes.

"The last person who tried to help me ended up as another page in my file. Stabbed and torn to pieces, just like the rest of them."

The jonin made an attempt to grab her, but to no avail. The tell-tale pop of chakra sounded, and she had already disappeared.

……………………………………………………

Phew. Got through that one alive. Please review. Please. I need story-line advice.


	4. Tea at Gravekeep's

Guess who's baack? Sorry for the long delay. I got depressed when I didn't receive any reviews… HINT, HINT. Alright. So this one is a lot of talking again, but it explains some stuff. Sorry about not knowing any good Japanese names… I'm working on it, I swear. By the by, Kia in this story is pronounced with a long "I" as in "b**i**ke" or "**I **want you to submit a review".

Disclaimer: if I owned Naruto, Kakashi would be tired all the time. I think you know why. If you don't, you don't want to know.

Enjoy! Please review!

……………………………………………………

"Nice weather today, isn't it?" came the rough greeting from the old mortician.

"Yes. We should be able to see the moon tonight," Kakashi growled in an impatient reply.

Gravekeep's head snapped up.

"If it decides to show its fa–"

"It always does when we need it to."

The older man peered into the woods as Kakashi pushed past him into the hut.

"She's not there anymore," he remarked, surveying the inside of the small home.

"What's your story?" asked Gravekeep with a suspicious growl. "Aren't you one of those Leaf nin who have been following her around?"

Kakashi drained the hostility from his voice before answering. "I was there when she found Masao. Look, I'm not like the nin of the valley. I'm here to deal with Okami as according to our observations. I know she didn't do it, but –"

"She won't tell you anything." Gravekeep shook his head and went to the stove. "Come on. Sit down and have some tea. Hey kids!" he addressed the cupboard Gai had mentioned. "It's alright. He's a friend. Coast is clear."

The door opened, revealing two girls, who should not have been able to fit in such a small place.

The first was about 18, and the second was Masao. They cautiously climbed up a ladder and into the main room. The older of the two grabbed a plate from the counter and handed it to the worn out refugee, all the while keeping her eye on the intruder.

"This is Tamoe and you know who Masao is. Girls, this is…"

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Right. I have more, young, old, male, female, all living here. 17 in all. There's a tunnel under the graveyard that leads to a clearing inaccessible to anyone but us. We form a nice, little family here. Tamoe, take Masao back down, will you?"

"Right, Gravekeep."

They disappeared under the pantry again.

"Now then. What do you want to know?"

"Why don't we start with her real name?"

Gravekeep smiled.

"What a bummer. I usually like to save that right 'til the end. Right to the point, aren't you?"

Kakashi was confused. He thought that the only thing her name would be useful for would be to track down and… deal with her family. _It's actually relevant?_

"Smart kid," Gravekeep was still ranting praise. "Much better than the shinobi here. Her name's Kia. She's Tanza's daughter."

"What?" Never had Kakashi suspected that. A high ranked noble yes, but the village _leader?_ Had he not had a mask on, his jaw would have hit the table.

Gravekeep grinned and chuckled.

"Gets 'em every time."

Past the shock now, Kakashi felt the presence of rage reenter his mind.

"Why don't I just tell you the rest," the aging mortician continued, setting a mug of hot tea in front of the jonin.

"Kia was born in the village about 27 years ago. As they have told you, her mother was killed when she was 4, while she witnessed the death. I'm sure they did not show you the case file, which points to Tanza as the culprit."

Inside Kakashi's mind, the pieces were slowly sliding into place.

"That bastard." he managed to mutter. "So when she remembered the murder he set her up to save his own ass."

"Almost," sighed Gravekeep in a soft reply. "The first seven of the deaths were the work of her own hands. They were not, however, who the report claimed them to be, and I have their uniforms to prove it. They were a group of enemy ANBU who had come to the village hidden in the valley to destroy it. Their mission was to burn down the city and its occupants, and then to set up camps and strip the mountain of trees in order to prepare it for mining. Our enemy villages seem to be under the impression that we have a vast amount of metal hidden in caverns below the mountain. The wolves prevent any of us from getting close enough to see, so it has been known by our people for centuries that it's a bad idea in the first place.

"The wolves are the reason Kia was able to defend herself. It has been said in legend that the Shadow, or leader, of the Moon Pack- an ancient line of wolves from this area- has an immense power that remains dormant in him for as long as he reigns. The tale states that if he feels he must, he has the ability to pass this power for a short time into a human, where it will become active. Because the ANBU's main goal was to destroy the home of the Moon pack, Tsuma, their leader, thought it best to lend his power to Kia, in order to nip the problem at the bud.

"Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, there was a minor glitch in the power transfer." The old man took a thoughtful sip of his tea. "You see, normally, as soon as the urgent situation passes, the power is returned, leaving the recipient with no memory of the acts he or she preformed with the power surge. However, as legend states, if the human was born on the night of the lunar eclipse, the power does not take control of their conscious mind, and it remains with them until their death. I know this may sound like an old wives' tale, but given that Kia is perfectly aware of her thoughts, and the fact that she was born on the night of the lunar eclipse…"

"It fits too well to be dismissed."

"Correct. Anyways, Tsuma passed his power off to Kia who was able to defeat the ANBU. After the shock of the attack wore away, the power's second ability took affect."

"Second ability?"

"The first ability that appears is the raising of physical abilities. The second improves the senses gives the mind a good clearing. Kia remembered her mother's death, and accused Tanza of the deed in front of many of the nobles in the village. He declared her insane and banished her, and she was in too much of a shock to stand her ground. She fled to the wolves and disappeared until about five years ago."

He paused. "You have, no doubt, seen how this village treats women."

"No rights, no freedom, treated as property. It's a felony to teach them how to fight, and a death sentence for them to learn." Kakashi had seen more than enough oppression in his few days since arrival.

"Well, Tanza's the worst of them all. He probably killed his wife because she did not bear him another son, while he knows well enough that he is the problem. When Kia came back, he had no problem convincing the elders that she was here to destroy them, and after he set up a few murders…"

"Who did the killing?"

"That's the best part. He sent a message across the country, calling all criminals of our village to kill innocent people in exchange for their freedom. His son, Kuna, trains them to kill and tear them up using the same technique, so the bodies appear to be from the same person. When one imposter dies, two more are hired to take his place."

He looked across the table at Kakashi, his eyebrows raised.

"You know, that mug never did anything to you."

The jonin looked at his hand. Hairline cracks were beginning to form on the rim of the mug as he held it with his tensed hand.

He let go and slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.

"Who was the 'last person who tried to help her'?"

Gravekeep sighed and picked up the two mugs, one empty, one leaking.

"His name was Tankato. He was her bodyguard after her mother died. Before her banishment, he taught her how to defend herself, and he preached using her own mind and opinions to fix her problems. He taught her many jutsus for about a month after that, until he was discovered and killed. You've probably seen his grave. It's at the base of a huge white stone in the forest. He was like a father to that girl. After they slaughtered him, she left to train elsewhere. She doesn't talk much to me, but I believe it was some sort of ancient shrine to the west of here. Tanza and Kuna know a few and their family scrolls talk about their origin some. My only guess is that she went looking for where they originated in her travels."

Kakashi sat, collecting his thoughts. At long last, he spoke again.

"How do I know that any of this is true?"

"For one, you'll find that deaths 8 to current are much more primitive than 1 through 7. What wolf kills so inefficiently: a stab wound to the heart: the most heavily protected area on the body! Then, what wolf would spend extra time carving the body up with a blade that she doesn't posses, when she doesn't even feed the kill to her pack. A little sadistic of a thought, but they're efficient creatures, not wanting to spend extra time on showy tricks. No. Kia's kills are usually throat slits, and she tends to burry the bodies.

"Two, you can see by the number and depth of lacerations on each body that they were caused by a number of people with different strengths, weaknesses, and body types.

"Finally, well, you saw her at the actual scene of the crime. Try to tell me she caused that. Directly or indirectly. Ever wonder why she wears the mask? It protects her from the pain around her. I saw her take it off to eat once, during a rough patch. The tears just spilled out. No, Kakashi. This is not just some story," he finished with a solemn frown.

"Why do you care so much?"

The elder man frowned deeply, staring out the small window of the hut.

"Victim number 117. Hazuna Shikiro. My daughter. I tried to kill Kia for it. She avoided everything I threw at her, be it shuriken, fist or trap. I tried to chase her down and slipped on a wet rock. Woke up in one of her pack's dens with a huge bump on my head and a note telling me how to get home and "I'm sorry" written over the bottom. Only thing was, it was wet with tears to the point that you couldn't read much of it." He chuckled. "I spent some time actually doing my job, figured it out, and found her at the rock. I told her I wasn't much of a fighter, but that I have room and resources to keep people safe if they need it. That's how we started up." He smiled and finished putting away the mugs.

"Now, I have one question for you, Kakashi." He looked up with a smirk. "Why do _you_ care so much?"

The jonin blinked.

"What?"

"Never mind. Silly question," he said hastily, smiling to himself. "It's getting late. Your squad will be wondering where you are. See you again sometime!"

With that, Gravekeep ushered him out the cabin and closed the door behind the bewildered shinobi's back.

As he slowly made his way to the village, the considered the old man's last question. Why _did_ he care so much? It wasn't like him to be so offended by Tanza's acts. He had seen similar stories, worse stories. This one had him straining to keep his emotions in check from the first moment he saw Kia…

The jonin stopped in his tracks.

_No. It can't be._ He stood for a moment, then shook his head of the thought. _No. That was a silly thought. I'm thinking too hard on this._

He kept walking, though a bit more briskly, back to the village.

………………………………………………………………………………….

"Those bastards!" Gai was the only one of Kakashi's squad who could articulate, but Asuma and Kurenai' shared a look of shocked disgust.

"Tell me about it. We all knew something was off with this mission."

Kurenai found her voice.

"What are we going to do about it? We're no match for the village's army, and with this accusation, that's who we'd be fighting."

"Maybe," remarked Asuma, "we should ask her for help again. If her pack pitches in, we'd at least get our point across."

"Right. We'll go see her in the morning. It's late, and we've got a big day ahead of us. Let's get some rest for now." With that, the four headed off to their rooms anxious for the day to come.

……………………………………………………

Kakashi woke well before dawn. He restlessly paced the kitchen floor as he heated water for tea. He waited impatiently as his squad members had breakfast and readied themselves for the day. As soon as they were done, he hurried them out the door.

Kia was standing, as usual, by the white rock. When the four ninjas approached, she lifted her head.

"It's no use, shinobi. Just go home."

She made as if to take off again. Kakashi wouldn't have it.

"Kia! Wait!"

She stumbled at the sound of her name. Her eyes revealed a split second of shock, then quickly returned to a slightly annoyed state.

"So, you've talked to Gravekeep. So what? No one in the village trusts him, and they definitely don't trust me."

"He gave us concrete evidence. They can't just ignore that." Kurenai spoke in a matter of fact tone. She was sell known for her aptitude in fights in Konoha, whether they were physical or verbal.

"Oh? And the average villager will believe in a bunch of hacked up bones presented by an old hermit, a demonic wolf girl, her pets, and a squad of former enemy ninja including a kunoichi? Not to mention, we're up against one of the most powerful leaders this region has ever seen, and the top jonin of the village. Go home before they hang you for conspiracy against the government. I'm happy enough living out here anyway. Not too much noise, all the food I can eat, and company that doesn't try to stab me in the back every time I turn around."

"No," Kakashi spoke quietly, "you're not happy. As long as you live out here, they'll keep killing in your name." He wasn't about to pick up and leave.

"It's none of my concern. They can't even get close to my pack mates. They're just hurting themselves."

"And you can't stand that. It hurts every stand of your being to see them taking each other out. It goes against everything you've ever been taught."

"Give it a rest." She rolled her eyes and turned away from them.

"And your guard, Tankato, was it? Would he tell you to just hide out here in the woods, doing nothing?"

She stopped dead for a split second and seemed to flicker out of existence. All at once, she appeared as a blur to hit Kakashi in the gut with a blinding blow.

He gasped for air as he hit the ground, and felt her foot resting firmly on his throat.

"Dark type, immobile seal!" she shouted. He saw his teammates, trying to get to them, freeze up suddenly. Gai struggled in vain as a ribbon of shadow wound its way up his body. Kakashi could feel the icy binds twist around him, but he did not struggle.

When the wolf girl spoke, her voice came out with a furious hiss, ripe with pain.

"Above all, he taught me to care for my family! Not necessarily my birth family, but those who really care about me! The come before the villagers, and they definitely come before me!"

A wet drop fell from her mask to his. Kakashi could taste the salty flavor as it soaked through the black cloth.

"But do you think they can really be happy?" he asked in the same voice he used the previous day, "knowing that the one they love, the one who does everything possible to protect them isn't happy at all?"

She slowly picked her foot back off of his neck and turned around. As she walked away, he could feel the seal receding.

He did not move from where she had thrown him.

"I will not allow my pack mates to be hurt while trying to bring me a better life.

He watched her as she disappeared into the forest.

……………………………………………………….

Yay! Chapter 4 complete! It'll start to pick up a lot more now, hopefully. If you enjoyed this, hated it, fell asleep, or died of laughter (though I doubt the last one occurred, unfortunately) TELL ME! REVIEW! NOW! thank you.


	5. The Storm

Yay! Another snow day! And more time for me to write! Only one chapter and a short epilogue to go! This one is a bit more fluffy than usual, but hey, that's the way it goes. And I never denied the fact that I have a dog fetish. It's not too weird in this one. Trust me. It could be much worse.

I had a dream that I owned Naruto. I cried when I woke up.

Enjoy, and please review!

………………………………………………………………

"Kakashi! Come on and pack your stuff. We're getting out of here." It was Gai. He was holding his bags and standing in the kitchen.

"What?" He had been in his own head since they left the clearing.

"We're going back home." Kurenai appeared in the doorway behind him.

"What? Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight!" Asuma looked as if he was willing to knock him out and carry him back to Konoha.

"We're not going now."

"_You_ need to get out of here." Gai was looking dangerous too.

"I know that, but we can't leave now."

"Kakashi, the mission is over. We need to go back." Sweet, sweet Kurenai with her hand reaching slowly for a rope.

Kakashi smiled and shook his head. His friends know him well, but not too well. He wanted more than anything to get back to Konoha, except maybe to drag Kia out of hiding, but they couldn't go now.

"We're not going tonight."

"Why the Hell not?!" chorused his squad.

He calmly walked to a window and opened the blind.

Rain was violently hitting the side of the house, and lighting flashed menacingly along the path they had to take.

"The Village Hidden in the Valley: well known for its good medicine, great wood carvers, and once-in-a-decade flooding storms. It looks like this one came a bit early. I don't think we should leave right now."

The three stared out the window and, defeated, pulled their packs back towards their rooms.

Kakashi looked back to the tea he had been thinking of drinking. So much for the impossible.

He had done the one thing he thought he would never do; he let his emotions get the better of himself and fell for the girl he might have had to fight. And what would have happened if they had caught her in the woods that one time that seemed ages ago?

His stomach turned at the thought. He would have sentenced an innocent girl to her death, or maybe worse. He put down his mug and looked out the window. Only 5 pm and darker than a moonless midnight. It was going to be a long night.

…………………………………………………………………….

Kakashi had just finished eating at 6 pm when a knock at the door sounded in between the crashes of thunder.

He opened it to see a small, drenched boy standing on their steps.

"Please! You have to help! The canals are cracking! Please!"

The jonin and his squad were already out the door. Kakashi had the boy on his back to lead him to the river.

When another flash of lighting lit up the sky, Kakashi could make out a large group of people surrounding a section of the canal wall. They let him pass to see.

A huge, vertical crack had formed in the concrete, and water prang out of it in tiny spouts.

He looked at his team, and they shook their heads. They had been trained to penetrate walls, defend them, and smash them down, but none of them were very talented at fixing them.

He set to work, applying as many sealing jutsus as he knew, while his team helped evacuate the villagers downstream.

"Kakashi!" Gai yelled.

He looked where his friend was pointing. As the lightning cracked around them, he could see a crack appearing on the main dam.

"Shit," he muttered as he raced towards the mountainous structure.

When he arrived, he saw immediately that nay attempt from him to repair the dam was in vain.

Be hind him, he heard the panic of the villagers as they evacuated. He had to give them more time.

As he prepared to lay down another seal, he heard the wall groan beside him. A second crack appeared, then a third, then more. The villagers beside him took frightened steps back. It was too late. He wouldn't be able to survive this. There was no chance for those beside him. Still, that wouldn't get him to stop trying.

"Run! RUN! Get out of here!" he roared as he threw himself at the wall, summoning as much chakra as he could.

The people around him snapped out of their shock and started rushing for higher ground. They hadn't even gotten a yard or two away before Kakashi felt the wall giving in beneath his hands. So it was the end. He was going to die vainly trying to save a village. A hero's death, but no one would ever know. It could have been worse.

As the dam heaved one last sigh before succumbing to the pressure of its overflowing lake, he felt someone land beside him.

"EARTH TYPE! BARRIER SEAL!"

Kia squatted there beside him with her hands in the mud. She raised them with a scream of effort, and the earth followed.

A vast wall of stone, gravel and muddy soil flew up in front of them and plastered itself to the wall. She stood there with her hands raised above her on the wall and her head hanging down, panting with exhaustion.

She slowly lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes smiling shyly.

"The moon always shows its face when its allies need it to."

He found himself too scared to talk. As if one word from him would shatter this dream, and he'd wake up at the edge of the destroyed city.

"Tsuma!" she called.

A muscular wolf leapt up beside them, towering over their heads. His pitch-black coat glistened in the flashes of the lightning. A scar like a crescent moon and three stars contrasted brightly on his left cheek, and his yellow eyes shined with unmeasured free will and intelligence.

"This wall will only hold for a couple of hours…"

"Yes, little Kia. We will take the humans to the main den until the flood waters recede." His voice was a deep growl and demanded respect.

"You know me too well," she said, laughing.

"You are the Blood Moon of my pack. Of course I do." He raised his head and uttered a long, deafening howl that made the hairs on Kakashi's neck stand up. Hundreds of wolves poured out of the forest and approached the villagers. Kakashi watched the drenched people pulling back with fear.

"They're here to help!" yelled Kakashi, "They'll bring us to higher ground!"

"How do we know they won't just round all of us up and kill us in our sleep?" screamed a voice from the crowd. Others yelled their agreement, and there looked to be no hope for them to get out of there.

Tsuma let out a tremendous half-growl, half-laugh. The yelling quickly died away.

"Stupid humans. If we wanted you dead, we would do it wolf-style, with an open treat and a chance for you to flee, not slaughter you in your sleep. Besides, if we wonted to kill you off, we would have done it years ago."

"Yeah? And we're supposed to buy that shit?" It was one of the men who had been trying to fix the great dam. "Get lost, you bastard! We can take care of our-"

He was cut off as Tsuma threw his body, tiny in comparison, against the wall.

Screams of panic and yells of anger started up, but immediately stopped when a large boulder crashed down on the spot the man had previously occupied.

"Do yourself a favor," said the calm voice of a female wolf, "and shut up. This isn't about pride; this is about saving your family. Or do humans not have the urge to keep their pups safe?"

Kia chimed in before anyone else could join the argument.

"Alright, my pack! Dark clan! You will be in charge of finding the people and getting them to the paths. Earth clan, stay here and keep the dams and canal walls up until everyone is out. Water clan! You go downstream and break the minor dams, starting with the furthest one so the water can drain quickly. Everyone else, you will wait at the path and take groups up to Main Den. Carry the young, old and sick, and make sure _no one_ gets lost! Let's move it!"

The wolves set out to do her bidding. It took no time for a long train of people to begin moving up the mountain. The pack members moved in perfect harmony with each other, and the area was cleared almost immediately. By 7:30 pm, the entire village and the surrounding houses had been evacuated.

Kia, Tsuma and Kakashi took up the rear, each carrying a child, or, in Tsuma's case, three. The littlest on the black wolf's back was too young to understand, and having the time of his life while tugging on the wolf's great black ears. The dark alpha couldn't have enjoyed it more.

"You should see him with his pups. He can beat anything that comes his way, but he has a huge soft spot for anything young."

Kakashi looked at the young woman walking beside him. She held herself high, but he could see her exhaustion beginning to take effect.

"What?"

"I thought you said this village wasn't your concern."

She averted her smiling eyes. The jonin could have sworn he could see her blush though her mask.

"None of my family was hurt, and I got to prove to the villagers that I'm not as bad as they thought. It's a win-win situation."

Kakashi smiled at her.

* * *

She could feel his eyes on her as she pretended to be concentrating on the people in front of her. Her heart beat faster as she felt the warmth of his masked smile.

Besides the Gravekeep, he was the only human to try to help her since Tankato. She stumbled slightly on some lose gravel. His arm shot out to steady her, which nearly made her heart stop. She was so distracted with the feeling of his hand, calloused, cold and wet from the rain, that she didn't feel the immobile seal until a split second before it hit her.

With practiced speed and precision, she made the sign of the disspell.

The humans and wolves around her stopped moving except for their eyes. She placed the sleeping girl she had been carrying gently on the ground.

"Hello, father," she said with nothing but pure hatred in her voice, "and brother too. Well, isn't this the family reunion."

"You're not family," Kuna said with disgust.

Tanza's eyes shone with hatred.

"Couldn't agree more," she muttered, eyeing them closely.

"A human raised by wolves. All alone in the world, with no one to love you, save the monsters you call your pack. I guess that makes you a stray dog. And you know what we do to stray dogs who cause trouble." Tanza paused and gave a sickening smile. "We put them down."

With that, the three surged together. Kia was exhausted, or she would have quickly emerged as the winner. She could feel her lack of physical strength and chakra slowly increasing. She blocked a blow from her bother and threw him back, quickly realizing her mistake. With her weight off balance, her father quickly car in behind her and applied a seal.

"Wind type, immobile seal!"

She was thrown to the side, and a series of invisible vines wrapped around her, preventing any movement. She strained at them while her father made a second seal from a safe distance.

"Unbreakable, timed seal," he muttered as Kuna slowly walked up to her, drawing a knife from its sheath.

"Good bye, bitch," her grinning sibling uttered in a joyous tone.

_This is going to hurt_, thought Kia as he placed one hand on her shoulder, bringing back his arm to strike.

He twitched slightly and she braced herself, but the blow never came. His eyes went wide as he dropped his knife and fell forward, a kunai sticking out of his back.

There was a small poof from behind her, and she could see the shadow clone of Kakashi disappear.

"How do I get rid of this seal on you?" asked his soft voice from behind her.

* * *

The girl's head whipped back around, a look of shocked gratefulness flooding her eyes.

"It-it doesn't come off until the time runs out. Unbreakable time seals go away a half hour after they are applied. Not even a disspell or any amount of chakra can break them."

Kakashi turned his head back to Tanza, who had just overcome his shock.

"Just hang in here, then, while I deal with this one."

A feeling of hatred was steadily rising in Kakashi. He stood protectively in front of Kia. Thank God for adrenaline. His senses had been heightened before the seal was applied, thanks to the miracle hormone and its friend, testosterone. He had just enough time to make a clone of himself stand in his place. The jonin was impressed with Kia's skill. To be able to defend yourself from two attackers after so much strain was a miracle itself.

He pulled back his headband, uncovering a scar running from above his eyebrow to the top of his mask. He slowly opened his eye, revealing a red iris with swirling black commas surrounding the pupil. The sharingan. He could immediately see the world in a different light, movements captured and predicted in his line of sight. He considered his options. It was true that he could use _that_ attack, but it was risky and he hadn't quite mastered it. Not to mention the fact that it would leave him passed out from exhaustion. No. That was not a way to impress a girl. Instead, he made a series of hand signs and grabbed at his right wrist.

"Raikiri!" he yelled as blue chakra swirled around his hand. It jumped around like the lightning from the storm.

"By you definition, Tanza, I guess some may consider Kia to be similar to a dog, but you were wrong about part of it."

"Really? What part would that be?" asked Tanza, trying, unsuccessfully, to hide his terror.

"She's not alone," he continued with a quieter voice, "and…"

He sprang at the man, who tried in vain to defend himself. Kakashi's hand ran him through the chest. He lowered his voice so that only Tanza and Kia could hear.

"…I love her."

Kakashi pulled his arm out of the former leader of the Village Hidden in the Valley, who fell to the ground. The wolves and humans, other than Kia, were able to move, but not many wanted to.

"Tanza was deceiving you all," said Kakashi in a voice that everyone could hear as he allowed the rain to wash the blood off of his arm. "There is evidence of his treachery at the morgue, in his office, and right her. Kia, his daughter, whom you all know as Okami was defending your village when she was banished. However, that doesn't matter now. We need to get to shelter soon."

The wolves and his squad took his cue and started moving the line again. He walked back to Kia.

"Tsuma, we need you to carry the children, so would you mind if…"

The wolf picked up Kia's and Kakashi's charges. As he moved past, he uttered a low growl that only the shinobi could hear.

"If you break her heart, I'll break you."

"I don't think you'll have that problem," replied Kakashi.

He gently picked up Kia. Her body was completely limp except for her head.

"You shouldn't keep your eye covered up all the time. I like it."

He looked down at her. She wasn't looking at him, but the steadily raining clouds.

"It scared most people, and it's good to keep it quiet. The less people know about me, the less they can do to hurt me."

"But that means you don't trust them."

"That's why I'm not covering it up now." He smiled softly as her eyes met his.

"What… what you said earlier… did you…"

"Mean it? Yes. Every word."

He could feel her pulse quicken slightly.

He pulled her closer as he maneuvered around the rough path.

"I never thanked you earlier, Kakashi. You helped me get to my pack mate in time. She got her leg trapped in a metal claw. They're all over the southern forest."

"I almost stopped you from getting there on time."

"You thought I was a murderer."

"I was wrong."

"And you went above and beyond to correct yourself. No one's ever done that for me before."

"Get used to it," he said smiling.

After some hiking, he felt the seal recede. He didn't put Kia down. She didn't ask to be let down.

He smiled warmly. The weather was horrible, but he couldn't have been happier.

………………………………………………………………..

How was it? I like making Kakashi sweet. The next chapter should pretty much conclude this… sob!

REVIEW REVIW REVIEW!!! I wrote this for you. Five words and a click or two won't kill you.


	6. Thankful for Convenient Rivers

Finally done the 2nd to last chapter… I guess I lied last time. The next chapter will be the last, and it will lead to the sequel. Yay! Now to write it…

**This one includes a sex scene, so don't read it if you don't like it.** It is graphic but not hard core. Sorry, but that's why I wrote this story in the first place… to act as a vent for my overactive imagination. It's pretty obvious where it begins, and it ends where Kakashi's personalities start arguing in his head.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would be one happy cookie.

Enjoy!

Oh… and sorry for the not-so Japanese names again… yeah… my bad.

………………………………………………………………..

When they neared the Main Den, Kia got down to lead the way. She walked straight through a patch of thorny vines, then turned around, remembering to say something.

"Don't worry. Most of this brush is an illusion. The trees are real though." She led the long line of people into a massive clearing. Most stopped and stared with wonder.

Before them was a cliff on the side of the mountain. A gaping hole marked the entrance of the largest cavern Kakashi had ever seen. Even with every wolf and human inside, there was plenty of room to spare.

Once they were settled, unease seemed to spread over the entirety of the cave.

One man eyed the corner where a group of smaller wolves were silently finishing their meals.

"What are you lookin' at, human?" growled a tall gray male.

"Mensa," warned another, older wolf who had been part of the rescue team.

"Just seein' what sets civilization apart from savages," replied the man coolly.

"You might want to shut up. Us savages have pretty sharp teeth," snarled Mensa.

"Not as sharp as out knives."

"You wanna bet?"

"Sorry, I don't make wages with inferior creatures. It's unfair to think they can make informed decisions."

The wolf snarled and lunged, faster than any man could block. There was a thud and a snap, and Mensa suddenly flew backwards.

"Blood Moon…" he whined as he nursed his sore jaw.

Kia crouched in a fighting position, coldly surveying the young wolf.

When she spoke, it came as a growl.

"If you ever do that again, I _will_ have your head. Got it?"

"Blood Moon-dono," an older female spoke, "Mensa is young and rash, but he has a point. I do not want these humans near my pups."

"And I don't want those wolves near my children!" shouted a man from the crowd.

"Shut up," Kakashi retorted with a bored-with-death-as-an-undertone voice.

"In case you've forgotten," added Kurenai, "they took you in. You have no homes to go back to."

"Shut up, Kunoichi!" the man snarled.

There was a metallic _thunk_ as he flew against the wall. Asuma stood coolly in his place, his fists clenched around the (thankfully) handle side of his specialized knives.

"Never talk back to Kurenai," he stated in the same tone Kakashi had used.

"As much as you hate it, she's right," continued Gai, "you won't survive out in this storm."

"Let's push 'em out there and see how well they swim," muttered one of Mensa's friends. Tsuma quickly silenced him, but there were more to take his place.

The shinobi and top-ranked wolves stood in the middle of two slowly growing mobs. The sound of arguments shook the ceiling of the cave as mutters grew to yelling matches. The anger buzzed in their ears, and both humans and wolves crouched to lunge. Finally, a Valley-nin called out "Fucking monsters!" and lunged. The fight had started.

But it wouldn't last long.

"**All of you! Sit down and SHUT UP!**" A huge voice boomed through the cavern. No one said anything but watched the silhouette of a wolf, almost Tsuma's size, in the entrance. Nearly all of the wolves and many humans sat down quickly.

The form slowly moved in, revealing a white coat and piercing blue eyes. She surveyed the scene, and at long last she spoke.

"My pups _will_ have their rest, and they can't do that with everyone yelling. Mensa!" The now shy wolf trembled as he stepped forward. "Go get the meat from the stores." She growled off a list of names from his group of friends. "You help him. Forest Clan! Fire Clan! You will gather fire wood and light up this den. Water Clan! Fetch the pelts so they can have something to sit on. Wind Clan! Dry them off and make sure none of them have hypothermia."

The men who had led the fight chucked snidely at the scramble to complete various tasks.

"What are you laughing at? The ten of you will go with some Earth Clan members to dig a latrine."

The men stopped laughing.

"You can't order us around!"

The white wolf stopped and set a cold gaze on him.

"_What_ did you say?" she snorted.

The man swallowed hard and ran to catch up with the others sent to do his task.

"Dark Clan! Go find the big pots from the old shrine and bring them back full of water. We need something to cook in."

Once she had finished assigning roles to everyone but the youngest, oldest and the exhausted shinobi and wolf leaders, she moved over to Tsuma.

"Blizzard, my love, I couldn't live without you."

He muzzled her cheek and she moved to a corner where she lay down.

"Blizzard is Tsuma's mate," explained Kia to the still shocked shinobi.

Kakashi noticed a bandage on her right foreleg. No wonder Kia was so grateful for his surrender the other day in the woods.

A small noise came from a tunnel be hind the white wolf. Tsuma wagged his tail proudly as strong, healthy pups made their way up to suckle their mother. A black male with white tips on his paws, tail, and ears followed them up and sat beside Kia.

"Thank you for keeping them quiet, Jirah."

"I'll do anything to keep them safe, father," he said as he lay down. "There are so many humans!"

"We have to thank you for letting them stay here."

"In times of flood or fire, even warring packs will grant each other safe haven, or at least safe passage," said a red male wolf.

"I'm Blaze, leader of the Fire Clan," he added.

The other clan leaders introduced themselves: Daar of Storm, Blizzard led Water, Avi of Wind, Ganta of the Forest, and Terras of Earth.

Soon, the cavern was filled with the smell of stews cooking, and the pups and children paved the way for human/wolf friendship by playing games of tag and tug-o-war.

The first of the stews were being served to the children when, at 9:30, a young Forest Clan wolf bounded in out of the rain.

"Tsuma-dono! Blood Moon-sama!" he panted, "Gravekeep's house is getting flooded!"

Kia sprang out the entrance with Kakashi, Gai, Tsuma, Blaze, and Daar on her heels.

They arrived at the cabin to find it an island in the middle of a churning, muddy river.

The wolves and shinobi easily cleared the water and began to take the refugees across one by one. After all the others had safely landed on the sturdy bank, Kia and Kakashi helped Gravekeep onto Tsuma's back.

With one powerful leap, the black wolf cleared the river.

"Time to go back, I think," stated Kakashi as he grabbed a pack of supplies for the den.

"Definitely!" said Kia with a smile. She was panting with overexertion.

The leaf-nin braced himself to jump, but Kia caught his sleeve. A huge rush of water, its sound drowned out by the storm, surged through and engulfed their landing. He could hear another wave coming and pulled Kia to him and jumped to the closer bank. Behind him he could gear the cabin crashing downstream.

"Kia!" howled Tsuma.

"We're fine!" she yelled back. "But the river is way too wide to jump!"

"We have to get the humans back to Main Den!" howled Daar.

"It's alright! We'll go to the Northeast Den for tonight and try to cross tomorrow!"

Another surge of water forced them out of talking range, but a flash of lightning showed the wolves carrying the humans to safety.

"Ah! The seeds of youth will be dancing tonight!" Kakashi calmly took the crackly voice of Gai over his wireless out of his ear. "Make sure you get _some_ sleep!" He threw it into the river and followed Kia, who was wandering through the woods ahead of him.

……………………………………………………………….

It took them until ten to find the smaller shelter. Kakashi lit a fire while Kia pulled a piece of wrapped meat and some bread from the pack.

She pulled off her loose, off-white over shirt, revealing a black, low-backed halter top, and a white bandage wrapped around her upper left arm.

Kakashi tried not to stare at the skin tight, slightly wet top, and he _definitely_ didn't notice the fact that two certain parts of her body had reacted to the cold rain. He busied himself by cooking a stew in an old pot they had found in the back of the den. She had explained how she collected such "human" objects when she was younger.

When at last the meal was done cooking, he filled two bowls and pulled down his mask to eat. After a few bites, he looked up at the girl sitting next to him. She was looking over his face with a not-so-hidden shocked expression.

"If you don't eat, you'll need more time to recover," he said, returning to his meal (and smirking inwardly).

She looked down at her bowl, and slowly reached for her mask. She was obviously hesitant to remove it, Kakashi noted as he pretended to be interested in a chunk of meat in his bowl. Finally, she slid up the white porcelain, just past her top lip, and drank hungrily at the broth. She quickly finished and hastily reached to re-cover her face.

Kakashi, who had silently shifted closer while the mask obscured her vision, reached over and stopped her hand. She froze and sat there, quivering slightly. Gently, he wiped a drop off her lip. To his credit, it did exist.

A tear fell from under her mask and brushed delicately down her cheek. A feeling of protective concern washed over the jonin as he slid even closer, removing her mask the rest of the way and wiping her eyes at the same time. He gently embraced her as she quietly shook with tears.

"Hey," he whispered, "what's this? It's ok. It's all over now. You can go back to the village if you want to now. Your pack is no longer in danger. Why the tears, little one?"

He held her back ever so slightly for her answer.

"Your mission is over now. Now that I found someone who actually cares, you have to go back."

Her face was beautiful when she cried. He wondered how it would look when she actually laughed. He held her closer and wiped the tears off of her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Listen to me, Kia. I will never leave you. I promise. Whenever you need me, I'll be there."

He leaned forward and kissed her eyelids. He heard her breath catch as she sat back slightly, shocked.

All he could do was sit in front of her, waiting nervously for a response.

Slowly, cautiously, Kia leaned forward. His heartbeat quickened, and he could hear hers do the same. So close now, his eyes half closed. She came impossibly close without touching him, pausing to gather the rest of her courage. After and eternity of waiting, her soft lips touched his and they seemed to mesh together.

Kakashi brought his arms around her and kissed her deeply. When she let out a moan that shook his being, he lost all thought of stopping. Slowly, he lay her back on a soft mattress of a worn pelt, with his body lightly resting on hers. She unzipped his vest, and he shrugged it off. Her hands caressed his chest, slowly moving down to his tightening abs. He shivered as she slipped her hand under his thin shirt and brought it over his head and arms.

The jonin felt a wave of playful curiosity wash over him. Between the open mouthed kisses he placed on her neck, he searched for the bandage on her arm. He could not smell any blood on her, and the white strips of cloth seemed to taunt him. Reaching for the tie that held it together, he felt her tense suddenly. _Nope, nope. Not good._ He removed his hand from her arm and gripped her head, nearly crushing her mouth with his as he sought to bring her back to the right mood. She shuddered and moaned again as he gently scraped her tongue over his canine. He smiled into the kiss as he felt her melt into him again. _I know your soft spot!_ His inner voice sang as he moved on to bigger, more exciting targets.

Gently grabbing the top of her pants, he unbuttoned them. Slowly, he slipped them down and off, tracing his hand lightly up the inside of her thighs. He teasingly stopped short and skipped up to her tight shirt, peeling it off her now sweat-soaked body. Her breasts hardened wantonly as he ran his thumb over them, begging him for more attention.

He bent over her, taking a firm bud gently into his mouth. She gasped and arched her back at the sensation, slipping her hands down the back of his pants and shorts. He helped her remove them very willingly, and revealed to her his obvious desire.

Finally, he grasped the top of her panties, teasing her with deliberately slow movements. He brought a hand between her legs, where he could feel her hot arousal. He slid a finger into her wetness, causing her to bring her hips up with need. She ground her thigh into his member, and he shakily took a calming breath.

Carefully, he positioned himself at her entrance and pushed in. He could feel her virginity, not because of a barrier, which had probably long been broken due to her active profession, but by the incredible tightness he felt as he entered. He moved as slowly as he could bring himself to, kissing her hard to rid her of any pain.

Once she relaxed again, he kissed her with barely more pressure than a breath, from her neck to her breasts, and her need reemerged. He pulled out slightly and pressed into her, receiving an encouraging moan. His speed increased with his need to feel her more, and she rose to meet him. Finally, when his need had built up so he felt as if he could stand it no longer, he felt his body reaching its limits. With much effort to restrain himself, he brought his thumb to the bud between her legs, flicking over it in time with his now uncontrolled thrusts. Her head flew back and her back arched as she dug her fingers into his shoulders. With a cry, he felt her close around her, and he came as well, unable to hold himself any longer. As he felt his warm seed spread into her, he silently thanked any storm deity he could think of for bringing them together and forcing the world out. The storm had made her his. His to protect, his to keep, his forever.

At long last, they collapsed in a pile of warm and tangled skin. She nestled in, close to his warmth, and drifted off. He gathered her protectively against him and murmured a quiet promise before reaching down and pulling up a blanket to cover them.

Not wanting to fall asleep quite then, he let his eyes wander along her sleeping form. Once again, he settled on the bandage on her left arm.

**No. She asked you not to.**

_But she was scared._

**Yeah. When you tried to take it off**.

_But what if she's hurt?_

**There's no blood. Don't. You shouldn't mess this up. You don't want to ruin such a pretty sight.**

_You know if she's hurt she won't tell us._

**She's not hurt. She didn't flinch in pain. Stop it. Curiosity killed the cat.**

_What if it isn't a physical injury?_

**Curiosity killed the cat.**

_What if she can't do anything about it?_

**Curiosity killed the cat.**

_What if it's a curse mark?_

… **curiosity… cats…**

_**I've always been a dog person myself**. _

Slowly, he reached over to her arm. If she was in trouble, he would help her. No matter what.

Gripping the edge of the fabric, he slowly pulled down. He caught a glimpse of the inverse of Tsuma's scar tattooed on her arm before everything went black.

…………………………………………………….

Well, that was fun to write. I personally love Blizzard… she's a character I've had in my head for a long, long time. The next chapter will be a bit confusing, but hey, that's been in my head for a long time too.

Please review, and thanks to those who have taken the 30 seconds or less that it takes and done so. I really appreciate it.


	7. Something to Look Forward To

Last chapter. This one gets a little sketchy, but trust me, this version is a lot better than the original plot twist I had planned. Tell me how you like/dislike it.

Disclaimer: Starts crying "I WANT KAKASHI!!!"

Enjoy!

……………………………………………………………………

When Kakashi came to his senses, he was no longer in the den. In fact, he was no longer on the mountain at all. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings. All around him, sinister looking gray trees stretched to the canopy. Dappled light fell to the loamy floor, and had he not felt that someone or something was watching him with murderous eyes, it would have been a wonderful spot. The air was cold and stale, and no wind blew through the leaves of the trees, giving it an utterly lifeless feel.

He spun around slowly in a circle, noting that the flat forest floor seemed to stretch out forever, fading into darkness near the horizon on all sides.

_Kia._

His training had taught him to keep silent in such situations. A small noise could alert anyone to your presence, especially when the only noise in the strange place was his soft breathing and nervous heartbeat. That, paired with the gut feeling that Kia would not be able to hear him no matter how loud he called for her, kept him silent. At least for a second or to.

"Kia!" his voice rang out through the trees, becoming slightly muted as the soft loam swallowed his call. "Kia!"

"She's safe."

Kakashi spun around at the deep growl that bubbled behind him. Standing not three yards away from him was the largest, blackest, most menacing wolf Kakashi had ever laid eyes on. Or dreamt about. Or, even if he had thought about one, imagined.

"She's always been safe. Stubborn, unhappy, but always safe."

"W-wha… who…" and then the great creature shifted. A shadow or essence of him seemed to lag behind, creating a momentary black outline of his former position. Chakra. A lot of chakra. Very black chakra. Kakashi surveyed the huge wolf, feeling dizzy at the sight. Wait a second. The tails that swayed behind the black giant didn't all go away when the streaks dissipated. Three large black tails swayed lazily, dragging about their black outlines.

"Sanbi…"

The three-tailed wolf demon laughed.

"Well, at least you aren't that moronic."

"You mean, that seal on Kia's arm…"

"Is a chakra seal, used to keep my power in check. You should have listened when she didn't want you to touch the seal. Now you are locked in here with me." He smiled menacingly. "What fun."

"Then she's a…"

"Jinchuuriki. Yes! Very good Kakashi! You're catching on. I only said that I was the three tailed bijuu about a minute ago," he said with mock gentleness. Suddenly he snarled. "However, you weren't very smart when you ignored her request, or when you chased her down in the woods, or when you let her put herself in danger to save you. You were down right idiotic when you tried to let her deal with her family when she was exhausted, and it was by _no_ means _alright_ when you took her for your own."

Kakashi's shock was replaced with nervousness as the Sanbi snapped at him. He needed to find a way out. Now. Who knew what happened to Kia when he broke the seal. He cursed at his childish curiosity. It could have gotten her killed! But then… the wolf demon spoke in a confusing manner. Had he wanted to hurt the copy-nin, he would have done so earlier instead of lecturing about… what was he lecturing about?

Kia.

He was mad a Kakashi because he had endangered Kia.

"You're not like the others, are you?" Oops. He didn't mean to say that out loud.

The demon looked at him with silted golden eyes.

"No. I'm not like the other bijuu because I have a pact with my pack. I protect them. Also, I am not like my pack because I am _much_ less forgiving."

With that, the black wolf crouched down and lunged. Kakashi didn't even have time to blink before the great beast was on him, and he was thrown into blackness again.

……………………………………………………………….

The second time he pulled into his consciousness was much more relieving than the first.

"Kakashi! Kakashi!" Kia was crouched over him, wrapped in a blanket. She was shaking him hard, and tears streamed down her face. "Kakashi! Wake up!"

He coughed slightly and opened his eyes fully.

"Heh. Sorry about that. Curiosity killed the cat. I guess I'm a pretty lucky guy."

He sat up and she knelt across from him, head down and shoulders shaking slightly.

"Gravekeep told me that there was a hidden power in you. I just didn't think it was a bijuu."

She sunk lower on her knees at that.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I meant to tell you. I just- I'm so sorry. Please, I can understand if you no longer care about me. Just please, please don't tell the villagers. They'd never let me back. Please Kakashi…"

She kept going, talking with her head down in respect, shoulders shaking with sobs. Kakashi was watching with an amused look. She looked cute when she babbled, but it was up setting her. He sighed inwardly and did the only thing he could think of to shut her up. He kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her up to him. Then he kissed her.

He stopped after she had relaxed. Well, ok. He stopped after they had both relaxed completely, she had stopped crying, and he was short of breath. Pulling back from the kiss, he held her close, with his mouth by her ear.

"Kia. There is no way in hell I would leave you because of that. Do you know that you're the first person I've ever told that I love them?"

"But…"

"What? The Sanbi? You're not him. He's just overprotective, which is good, because I am too. Besides, one of my students is the jinchuuriki for the kyuubi. I know how to deal with nasty demons, and yours isn't even all that nasty."

He yawned. Luckily, the whole ordeal hadn't taken too long. There was still plenty of time until morning, and he needed it. Noting the dark circles around Kia's face, so did she.

"You'll have to be extra careful though. It's sort of ironic, actually. My long-term assignment until my two pupils are finished training is to train for a confrontation with a group called Akatsuki. They're goal is to find each bijuu and use them for power. It kills the jinchuuriki when they take the demon out of them. Just promise to be safe, and to not tell anyone else." She nodded.

"Good. Anyways, you smell too nice for me to leave." He did and inner jig as she smiled against his neck. "Come on. We both need some sleep." With that, he curled her up next to him and tugged the blanket over both of them, so he could feel her soft skin against his, and fell asleep to the sound of her steady and content breathing.

……………………………………………………

He awoke in the cave with a start, panicking at the absence of her warm body against his. To his relief, she was sitting in at the entrance to the den, watching the sun as it peaked up over the mountains.

He silently walked up to her and sat down behind her, wrapping his arms and legs around her still naked body. She arched back against him and tilted her head back. He kissed her parted lips until his stomach interrupted him.

Sheepishly, he reached for the pack and pulled out some dried strips of meat. Not much, but it was better than nothing, especially when she was frustrated by tearing up the chewy meat. She sat in the nude and tore at the stringy strips, growling softly at it. She only looked up when he started to laugh at how she was, in fact, very doglike. She smiled, blushing when he stated this, and he was relieved to see that she was _much_ more beautiful when happy.

They got dressed and she led him around on a higher route to the Main Den. It was just a coincidence, she stated with a grin, that it was also the route to the natural hot springs. It was not a coincidence when Kakashi tripped and grabbed out for Kia's hand when they were at the edge of one of said hot springs when she was tentatively checking the temperature, especially because he had already taken off their clothes and put them on a high and dry rock shelf.

He discovered she was ticklish as he washed her down. Not something that would be forgotten.

When they had dried off enough, they dressed again and set off for the main den, bumping into Asuma and Kurenai as they hit the main trail. The embarrassed couples stood, awkwardly studying each other's damp, just washed appearance. The men averted their eyes to the ground, blushing. Kia and Kurenai quivered with silent laughter and shook their heads.

"We won't tell if you don't," offered the Leaf Village kunoichi.

"Deal," laughed Kia.

When they set out later with a group of wolves and villagers, the shinobi decided to stay for a while to help rebuild the village. To save themselves the commute, the wolves slept out in the village park at night. Kakashi left his window open.

Within a week, the dams wand canals had been repaired, and houses were quickly being built with materials the wolves brought in from the mountain.

On their last night together, Kia lay next to Kakashi, blinking away silent tears. Unable to hold back his own, Kakashi lay by her side, trying to absorb the picture of her beautiful face into his very being. They said goodbye that night, and in the morning they waved cheerfully to each other, thanking the gods for the miracle of masks.

………………………………………………

Kia walked endlessly that day. She avoided any contact with living beings, and had no destination in mind. At last, her feet brought her to a halt at the Northeast Den.

She took a deep breath and entered. Tears came to the corners of her eyes as she took in her surroundings. The pot was still lying next to the fire pit and the blanket lay crumpled in a corner where they had left it. On the fur mattress lay a small, brown package. She hesitated, but picked it up.

Gently unwrapping it, she revealed two notes and a leather collar. She picked up the collar first. It was thick and black with silver stitches, and many small seals were etched in it. It had a small silver buckle, and a silver tag with 'Kia' engraved in it. She flipped it over to the inside, revealing a silver plaque. She tilted it in the light to read.

"You are never alone and always loved. Never let anyone call you a 'stray'."

She smiled and picked up the first note, which explained the many seals on the leather strap. It must have taken hours to complete.

She picked up the second note and slowly read the distinctive chicken scratch.

"I love you, Kia. I know I may not have the chance to see you often, and I know the village and your pack need you, but please, when I am not called out on field missions anymore, and when your people and your wolves are safe and can get by without you, please, Kia, will you-"

A tear fell on the last two words and Kia put the collar on. With purpose now, she headed to a cave system that she knew well.

………………………………………………..

After giving his report to the Hokage, Kakashi walked into his apartment and shut the door behind him. He leaned his back against it and slowly slid down to the floor. He rested his head in his hands and remained there until he remembered that Mr. Ukki needed water. He slowly got a glass and poured it onto the slightly withered leaves. He dropped the glass on the window sill beside it and slumped onto his bed.

_Why did I leave her there?_ A small tear squeezed out from his scarred eye as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

All the way home he had faked a good mood. His squad-mates had seen right through it, but that didn't matter. He didn't want to be convincing to them.

He called in to Leaf Village Head Quarters, telling them he would be out for a few days for personal reasons. Naruto and Sakura weren't done their training yet, so no one would miss him.

The second morning after his homecoming, there was a knock on his door.

"Mail for you, Kakashi-san!"

He rolled out of bed and reached for the door. Along with his usual junk letters, bills, and catalogs that he would never read, pay late and throw out respectively, there was a small brown package. His heart skipped a beat.

"Calm down," he told himself, "it's probably nothing."

But it wasn't nothing.

A silver chain and dog whistle sat on top of two notes.

He pulled out the whistle and turned it slowly in his hand. Tiny seals were intricately carved into its side, with "Only Yours" written on the back.

He reached for the first note and glanced at it. He would read about what the whistle could do later, but there was only one thing that concerned him now.

He took the second note up with trembling hands and cautiously broke the seal on it. He closed his eyes and held his breath instinctively. When he could bear it no longer, he looked at it. One word, one syllable, one sweet answer.

"Yes."

He reached over to his phone and called the Head Quarters.

"This is Kakashi. Yeah. Call in and tell the others that I'll be there today."

He slipped the chain under his vest and walked out the door, his mask barely covering his smile.

…………………………………………………………

Finished! I hope you liked it, I know it ends without really ending, but that's what the sequel will be for. As for the Sanbi, I think that a turtle is lame. Xif you don't know what I mean when I say turtle, you haven't gotten that far in the series, or you forgot Sanbi is a turtle demon in the manga/animeX Wolves are much better, so I made akatsuki make a mistake and the wolf is the real Sanbi. They don't call these fanfictions for nothing.

Please review and give me advice for the next story, or just editing this one.


End file.
